Insecticide



Patented Sept. 24, 1946 INSECTICIDE Samuel I. Gertler and Herbert L. J. Haller, Washington, D. 0., assignors to The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture and his successors in office No Drawing. Original application December 7,

1943, Serial No. 513,220. Divided and this application September 27, 1945, Serial No. 619,012

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

2 Claims.

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United states of America for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This is a division of our copending application for patent Serial No. 513,220, filed December 7, 1943, said copending application being a continuation in part of our application for patent Serial No. 360,360, filed October 9, 1940.

This invention relates to improvements in materials for destroying or checking the growth or multiplication of living organisms, whether plant or animal which are economically inJurious to man.

An object of the invention is to provide materials suitable for use as insecticides.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a material for dusting or spraying delicate vegetation, such as bean plants, peach trees, and plants grown under glass, which will not cause injury to foliage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a material which is relatively nontoxic to man and domestic animals when taken by mouth, and which can be used in place of lead arsenate and other arsenicals for destroying insects, without leaving harmful residues on fruit and vegetables.

We have found that acetophenone semicarbazone has a specific toxic effect upon insects, and our invention consists in the application of this substance to the destruction oi insect pests.

The insecticidal material may be reduced to an impalpable powder by grinding and applied to vegetation either dry as a dust or made into a suspension and used as a spray. When applied as a spray in water, it may be desirable to incorporate wetting agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, or any derivative of sulfosuccinic acid and an alkyl aryl sulfate. Stickers may also be incorporated, such as casein, soybean flour or fish oil. The spray may be made by mechanically suspending the impalpable powder or by first absorbing it in an appropriate solvent, such as acetone, methyl alcohol, or ethyl alcohol, and pouring the resulting solution into water, whereupon a fine colloidal suspension is obtained. The suspension may then be applied directly to the host plant or combined with a suitable Wetting agent or adhesive, such as those mentioned above, and then sprayed.

The insecticidal material when used as a dust may be adsorbed on or mixed with a suitable diluent, such as clay, talc, bentonite, etc.

The insecticidal material may also be employed in admixture with other known insecticides, such as pyrethrum, derris, nicotine, arsenicals, etc.

Acetophenone semicarbazone tested against newly hatched larvae of the European corn borer was practically as toxic as derris after a 72-hour period. When tested against newly hatched screwworm larvae by the jar test method, it was toxic at a concentration of 0.05%.

It is to be understood that the above-mentioned compound is merely used as an example 'use.

and that this invention is not restricted to such Also the above example is not to be construed as limiting either the method of application of this novel insecticide or the kinds of insects to which it may be applied.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 1. An insecticidal dust composition comprising acetophenone semicarbazonein the form of an impalpable powder admixed with a solid diluent. 2. A method for destroying insects comprisinll subjecting the insects to the action of acetophenone semicarbazone.

SAMUEL I. GER'ILER. HERBERT L. J. HALLER. 

